Lily Evans is Sleeping in MY Bed
by do i need a pen name
Summary: While at Hogwarts, James found Lily Evans sleeping in his bed three times. The first time, James realized he was in love with her. The second time he realized getting her to love him was hopeless. The third time she actually knew it was his bed. COMPLETE
1. One

**Lily Evans is Sleeping in MY Bed**

**One**

It was well after midnight by the time James Potter finally made it up to the fifth year boy's dormitory. Earlier that day, Gryffindor had won their Quidditch game against Ravenclaw, practically securing the cup for them. The resulting party was still in full swing back in the common room, but James was exhausted and Sirius had been otherwise occupied and therfore couldn't force his best friend to remain at the party.

And so it was with thoughts of his comfortable bed filling his mind that James pushed open the door to the dormitory he shared with the other fifth year Gryffindors. At first glance it appeared to be empty, but as James drew nearer to his bed he realized that he had been mistaken. Someone appeared to be fast asleep in his bed, and that someone had bright red hair.

Before James could even react to this, the door opened once more and Remus walked in, a large slab of chocolate in his hand. James rounded on his friend.

"Lily Evans is sleeping in my bed." He stated, sleepiness and confusion muting what would have otherwise been his elation at this random turn of events.

"She fell asleep?" Remus asked, glancing past James to see the redhead was indeed fast asleep.

"_Why_ is Lily Evans sleeping in my bed?" James responded. "And why is she even up here?"

Remus frowned. "I was up here reading—"

"You didn't come to the party?" James suddenly cut his friend off, not feeling nearly as drowsy as he had when he'd climbed the staircase up to the room just moments before. "What kind of Gryffindor are you, Moony?"

Remus rolled his eyes now. "Of course I was at the party—and before you ask, I went to the game, too, don't worry. I came up here around eleven, though. I had some studying to do."

"So you and Evans were studying up here?" James asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Alone? In our dorm? _Together_?"

Remus rolled his eyes once more and resisted the urge to laugh. James Potter was nothing short of infatuated with Lily Evans, no matter how often she had attempted to discourage him.

"No." He replied shortly. "Let me finish before you jump to conclusions. I was up here reading my Defense Against the Dark Arts book _by myself_, and Lily came up here to talk to me."

"About what?" James asked, after waiting for a split second to make sure that Remus wasn't going to continue speaking.

"I really don't think I should tell you." Remus said slowly, looking uncertain. "She probably wants to keep it private."

"You've got chocolate, Moony." James stated, his face serious. "You're the one who thinks chocolate makes everything better. What's wrong?"

With a sigh, Remus crossed the room to sit on his bed, which was situated next to James'. Absentmindedly he broke off a piece of the chocolate and placed it in his mouth. When the sandy-haired boy didn't speak, James went and sat next to him, the chocolate between them.

"Marauder's honor I won't tell anyone." James swore. "Just tell me what's wrong with Evans, Moony."

Remus sighed again, before speaking. "Lily had a letter from home." He grabbed an envelope off of the table next to his bed and handed it to James. "Really, it's just a picture."

Silently, James opened the envelope and pulled out the picture. As it was a Muggle photograph, it wasn't moving. There were two people in it: a thin, bony woman who vaguely resembled a horse the way she was smiling and the largest man James had ever seen. The back of the picture was dated last week Saturday, and James believed the couple was attired in muggle wedding apparel, if he remembered that lesson from Muggle Studies correctly.

"It's from her sister, Petunia." Remus said, indicating the woman in the picture. "Apparently she got married last week. Lily had no idea; she wasn't invited to the wedding."

"They're sisters?" James asked dubiously, glancing from the woman in the picture to the girl he had pined after for years and who was currently asleep on his bed. "Why wasn't Lily invited?"

"They aren't very close anymore." Remus replied, taking the picture back and replacing it in its envelope. "Petunia despises anything to do with magic, including her only sister."

"That's horrible." James said softly and Remus nodded his agreement.

"Lily came to talk to me because she knew Snape wouldn't understand." Remus said after a moment, hesitant to mention Snape's name. "Snape and Petunia don't get along very well, because Petunia blames Snape for Lily finding out that she's a witch. If there's one person that Petunia dislikes more than Lily, it's definitely Snape."

James shrugged at this. "Well, can't blame her for that one. I don't like him very much myself."

Remus nodded. "When I finally got Lily to stop crying and she told me what had happened, I went to get her some chocolate from the kitchens. She must have fallen asleep while I was gone. I suppose I should wake her up so that she can go sleep in her own bed…" But he looked as if he'd rather not disturb the peaceful slumber she had fallen into.

James shook his head. "Don't bother. I'll just sleep on Padfoot's bed. He'll probably pass out downstairs, anyway."

Remus nodded once more, and ate another piece of chocolate. James stood up and gathered his pajamas from the trunk at the end of his occupied bed and Remus went back to his studying. After returning from the bathroom, now dressed for bed (he might be half in love with the redhead, but it just didn't feel _right_ changing in front of her, even if she was currently fast asleep in his bed) James threw back the covers on Sirius's bed, thankful that there were house elves who took care of things like changing the bed sheets regularly.

James placed his glasses on the bedside table and drew the bed curtains to block out the lighted room, but he didn't immediately fall asleep. His mind couldn't help but wander to the redhead in the bed next to his. After spending practically his entire Hogwarts career chasing after her, he just couldn't fathom how someone could not like Lily. She was smart and funny, she liked helping people whether or not they asked for it, and she was rather pretty. Of course, she also apparently hated James with a burning passion and had claimed on more than one occasion that she would rather date the giant squid than him, but James still couldn't help but love her.

_Sweet Merlin_, James suddenly realized to himself. _I _love _Lily Evans. I really do love her._

And with a smile now stretched across his face, James closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, his newfound revelation running through his head.

_I love Lily Evans._


	2. Two

**Two**

Remus was sitting up in his bed looking over an essay for one of his classes when James walked into the sixth year boy's dormitory. Exhausted after a long Quidditch practice but optimistic about the potential outcome of the upcoming match against Hufflepuff despite the recent loss of one of his beaters, James was about to throw his Quidditch gear on his bed when he noticed that it was already occupied.

"Lily Evans is sleeping in my bed." James stated, a brief bout of déjà vu sweeping over him as he recalled the last time he had said those words.

"Sorry, mate." Remus said, barely glancing up from his essay.

"Did something happen?" James asked, gently setting his broom on top of his trunk.

"Well…I suppose you could say that." Remus replied, finally putting the parchment down. "It's been a rough week."

"Am I allowed to ask why?" James wanted to know.

Remus shrugged. "It's nothing you don't know already, I suppose." He sighed wearily. "Lily came up here earlier claiming that she needed help revising her Potions essay—"

"The one that's not due until _next_ week Friday?" James cut in.

"Yes." Remus replied. "She wanted me to proofread it. And, really, it's a good thing she came up here, because after reading it, I realized that there were so many things I need to fix with my essay. I entirely forgot to include a section on the importance of why the potion has to brew for exactly fourteen minutes after all of the ingredients have been added. Do you have any idea how many points Slughorn would have taken off if—"

"Moony!" James interrupted loudly, but only loud enough to get the sandy-haired boy's attention. He didn't want to disturb the sleeping girl. "Get to the point."

"Sorry." Remus said sheepishly. "Anyway, she came up and had me proofread it, and right as I opened my mouth to tell her that it's perfect, she asked what happened with Sirius."

James didn't say anything for a moment, his lips curving down into a frown. "What did you tell her?"

"The truth." Remus replied with a shrug. "She already knew about my 'furry little problem' as you like to call it."

"How did she know anything happened in the first place?" James questioned. "I thought Dumbledore covered everything up?"

"He did." Remus stated. "But…I guess Snape cornered her in the library."

A spurt of anger flared in James's chest, but he forced himself to calm down. Unless Snape had cursed Lily to go into some kind of magical sleep if she told anyone what had happened, then James could clearly see the evidence before his very eyes that she was alright. And, Remus didn't seem too concerned about the fact that she was asleep, so clearly everything was fine. "What did he say?"

"He tried telling her what I was, but clearly that was rather pointless, as she already knew." Remus said. "Then, apparently, he went on about how you and Sirius had clearly tried to get him killed."

"You've got to be joking!" James exclaimed, remembering at the last second to keep the volume of his voice down. "I was the one who bloody saved that slimy git!"

"I know, James." Remus said consolingly. "But you know Snape would do anything to get Lily to hate you."

James gave a hollow laugh as he sat at the foot of Remus's bed. "She already hates me, mate." He said softly.

"But not as much as she hates Snape." Remus replied. "You know what happened at the end of last year—"

"I lost Lily her best friend." James cut in. "He might not have called her that name if I hadn't provoked him like that. Don't deny it, Moony, I'm just as at fault for what happened as Snivellus is."

Remus merely shrugged. "I'll stay out of all of that, if it's all the same to you."

"What happened next?" James asked, after a brief moment of silence, his gaze locked on the sleeping girl in his bed.

"You'll like this," Remus said with a small smile, "Lily said she had a 'few choice words' with him for coming anywhere near her when she's already made it clear she wants him to leave her alone. But if your history with her is anything to go by, that probably means she hexed him."

"Serves him right." James muttered. "I bloody _saved_ him."

"After that she came up here." Remus continued. "She wanted to know the truth. So, I told her that Sirius tricked Snape and you went after him as soon as you found out, and brought Snape back."

"Did she believe that I could actually do that?" James asked after a moment of hesitation. "I mean, she didn't think you were joking about me technically being nice to Snivellus?"

Remus sighed heavily. "You really shouldn't be so hard on yourself, James."

James stood up suddenly and began putting away all of his Quidditch gear. Once he was down to just his sweaty t-shirt and pants, he turned back to his friend, everything he'd need for a shower in hand.

"I think I've just about given up on her, Moony." James stated. "I don't think she's ever going to realize how I really feel about her."

Remus pursed his lips. "I can't say at all how she really feels about you," he began carefully, "But I'm willing to bet that she might at least find you more tolerable if you tone things down a bit. Maybe before you get her to fall in love with you, you should try to get to know her a bit."

"I don't know, Moony." James said hesitantly. "I really think it would be best if I just left her alone completely from now on."

"But do you really want to?" Remus questioned. "You're the one who keeps saying how much in love you are with her. If you really love her you won't let her go."

"I'll think about it." James said finally. "The year's almost over, I have all summer to figure things out. But I'm definitely going to stop asking her out." He let out a defeated sigh. "I don't know what I'll do if she says 'no' one more time…"

When James got back from his shower a half hour later, Remus had put away his school work and gone to sleep. James glanced at his own bed and saw that Lily was still sound asleep in it, fully dressed in her uniform. He gently slipped her shoes off and placed the blanket that had been at the foot of the bed over her, before turning to get into Sirius's empty bed.

Ever since the incident with Snape and the Whomping Willow a week earlier, Sirius hadn't been on speaking terms with the rest of the Marauders. James was determined to not forgive his best friend—no matter how much he missed him—until Sirius at least apologized to Remus for what he'd done. As a result, they all avoided each other like the plague—James had no idea where Sirius spent most of his nights now, but he suspected it was on the couch in the common room.

James glanced once more at Lily's sleeping form before drawing the curtains around Sirius's bed. No matter what he and Remus had discussed earlier, he really was just about ready to give up on Lily ever loving him back. It was hopeless.


	3. Three

**Three**

It was nearly five o'clock in the morning when James got back to the deserted Gryffindor Common Room. It was a Wednesday morning, so he figured that there were still at least two hours before any sane person would be up. Still, James took care to walk as quickly and as quietly as he could up to his dormitory. He approached his bed, looking forward to spending the next two hours totally unconscious. But when he pulled back the curtains (which he hadn't remembered shutting the night before) it was to find his bed already occupied. James blinked back the sleep from his eyes, surprised.

Well, this was unexpected.

On two previous occasions James Potter had come up to his dormitory to find his bed already occupied by a sleeping Lily Evans. This time was no different, except for the fact that…well, it just was. The other two times this situation had occurred, Lily had come up to talk to Remus, and had ended up falling asleep on the bed situated next to the sandy-haired boy's. But Remus wasn't here tonight; in fact, save for Lily, James was the only person in the dorm.

And so, the question remained: _Why_ was Lily Evans sleeping in his bed?

It could be that she felt the presence of another person, or perhaps she was some sort of Seer and just knew that someone was watching her, or maybe she was simply used to getting up at such an ungodly hour of the morning. Whatever the reason, though, before James could even begin thinking of how to handle the current situation, Lily began to stir and finally opened her eyes to meet his confused gaze.

"'Morning, James." Lily said with a yawn.

James didn't say a word and merely stared at her as if she'd gone mad.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, sitting up, looking at him with concern.

"You're in my bed." James finally said, causing Lily to look at him with some confusion.

"I—" She abruptly stopped speaking and glanced around herself, quickly coming to the obvious realization that she wasn't in her own bed. "Oh no, I fell asleep! I didn't mean to fall back to sleep. I'm so sorry, James! I should probably get back to my own dorm before everyone wakes up."

She threw the blanket off of her and swung her legs over the side of the bed, but just as she was about to stand up, James stopped her.

"It's alright." James said, sitting next to her on the bed hesitantly. "But…why are you here?"

"Well…I…erm, you see—it's like this…I-I…" She stuttered, avoiding eye contact with him. "I…uh, wanted to…come talk to you. But there was no one here, where was everyone?" She glanced quickly around the deserted room, still avoiding James. "Where _is_ everyone?"

"Full moon last night." James replied by way of explanation. "Padfoot and Wormtail went down to the kitchens to beg an early breakfast off of the house elves. What did you want to talk about?"

"I…er, nothing in particular." Lily said slowly, picking at the blanket beside her absentmindedly.

James eyed the pajama-clad girl dubiously. "You came up here in the middle of the night to tell me 'nothing in particular' and when you found the dorm totally deserted, you opted to _stay_ here?"

"I…uh, yes?"

James raised an eyebrow at her. "That's not a very good example for the Head Girl to be setting."

"Shut up." Lily responded, knocking her shoulder against his lightly. "Sneaking out of the castle in the middle of the night isn't a good example for the Head Boy to be setting, either, is it?"

"You wound me, Lils." James informed her dramatically, one hand over his heart. "I thought we were friends, now?"

Lily rolled her eyes, but her lips curved up in a small smile.

"Well," Lily began suddenly, "I should be getting back to my dorm; it's about time to get ready for classes."

She attempted to stand up, but James grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back down next to him, then intertwined his fingers with hers.

"Lily," he began softly, "Just tell me what's going on."

"I hate you, Potter." Lily stated with a groan, falling back onto James's bed so that she was lying across it horizontally with her legs hanging over the edge.

"You've been saying that for years," James began, lying down next to her after only the briefest moment of hesitation, "But somehow I just don't believe you. For example, you do realize that this is _my_ bed you were sleeping in, don't you?"

Lily frowned slightly and took a moment to respond, "What did you do those times I came up here to talk to Remus and fell asleep?"

"Stole Sirius's bed." James replied with a shrug as if this was the obvious answer. "And stop avoiding the question."

Lily sighed. "I had a nightmare." She finally said in a small voice.

"So you came up here to find _me_?" James clarified, still slightly confused.

"Yeah…you were kind of part of the nightmare." James turned his head to face her and saw that she was staring resolutely at the scarlet cloth above them.

"Must have been a memory, then." James commented lightly. "I'm thinking…the time third year that I turned your hair purple…well, the first time I did that, anyway. Purple really was a good color on you."

"I wanted to make sure you were alright." Lily said in such a soft whisper that for a moment James thought he had only imagined her speaking. Then he gave the hand still intertwined with his a light squeeze.

"It was just a dream, Lils." James said comfortingly, all joking abandoned. "It wasn't real."

Lily finally turned to face him. "I'm sorry."

"You can't control your dreams, Lily." James told her rationally.

"I wasn't talking about that." Lily said with another roll of her eyes. "I meant I'm sorry for stealing your bed those other times. But, mostly, I'm sorry that I'm such an idiot."

"I'm…confused." James said finally. "Did I miss something?"

"Well, 'idiot' might be wording it the wrong way…" Lily contemplated, her gaze drifting momentarily before settling on James once more. "I suppose you could say I was blind, for a very long time."

"I'm still confused." James informed her.

"I'm sorry. Again." Lily said with a deep sigh. "It's just…I've been thinking a lot, lately."

"About?" James prompted when she didn't continue.

"I'm kind of glad I didn't meet you until we were eleven," Lily confessed, "I'd hate to see what you were like as a child with nothing but free time on your hands."

"I feel as if I should be insulted by that comment," James replied, "But since I've already caused you to have such a trying night, I'll let that one pass."

"Thanks for the consideration." Lily said dryly. "Anyway, I just think I should let you know that I'm sorry it took this long for us to actually get to know each other. My nightmare…I guess it put things in perspective for me."

"What was it about?" James questioned when she didn't continue.

Lily was suddenly avoiding his gaze again.

"There were Death Eaters," She finally whispered to the scarlet cloth above them. "They were everywhere. I kept trying to get away from them, but they were following me. I-I tried looking for you…but I couldn't find you anywhere. I heard one of them shoot some kind of spell at me and that's when I woke up. I was just lying there when all of a sudden I realized…well, I realized how important you are to me and that you'd do anything for me. I was such an idiot for years thinking that you asking me out constantly was some kind of joke to you. When you weren't there in my dream, I realized that that would never happen in real life, and…I don't want you to not be there for me, if that makes sense. Getting to know you this year has been great, but I don't want to lose you to anyone for any reason."

She was silent for a moment and James was speechless.

"That's when I came to find you." Lily concluded, still staring at the ceiling.

James couldn't immediately think of a response to what she was telling him. He had literally dreamed of being with her for years, but she had constantly rejected him. At the end of his sixth year, just a few months previously, James had given up on Lily ever feeling the same way about him that he felt about her. And so he had stopped asking her out and had instead become her friend, in time. And now Lily was as good as saying that he was wrong to ever think that they could only ever be friends. James had given up hope that that would ever happen.

There was only one course of action to take now.

"Lily," James began tentatively, gripping her hand tighter, "What would you say if I asked you to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?"

She didn't answer immediately, and James was worried that he had somehow misinterpreted what she had been saying. But then she turned to face him with a mischievous grin upon her face.

"I'd say it's about time we went on a date after all of the times I've slept in your bed."


End file.
